UK companies are behind plans to install a hybrid storage system of lithium-ion and vanadium redox flow batteries at the heart of a new ‘energy superhub’ in the English city of Oxford.
The superhub consortium— which includes UK energy storage company redT and Pivot Power— said the project would study how the growth in local renewables, electric vehicles, battery storage, and demand-side response can be supported and help in reducing charges to consumers.
Pivot Power will create a connection to the transmission network for the system that will combine the lithium-ion battery with “2 MW / 5 MWh of the heavy cycling, non-degrading characteristics of vanadium redox flow machines”.
Utilising both lithium-ion batteries and vanadium redox flow machines in one hybrid system “combines the strengths of the two technologies to meet the complex demands of multiple applications while extending the lifespan of the lithium-ion battery”, the consortium said.
The system will power a 10-kilometre network of 100 “ultra-rapid and fast charging stations, to kickstart an electric vehicle revolution across the city”.
UK Research and Innovation will contribute around £10 million (US$13.1m) to support the £41m project, as part of moves by Oxford City Council to achieve zero carbon status.
Oxford-based Habitat Energy, also part of the consortium, will provide technology for grid balancing and trading the battery storage in the power markets. According to the consortium, the project aims to save 20,000 tonnes of CO2 per year by 2021, rising to 44,000 tonnes per year by 2032.
In 2018, Pivot Power unveiled plans to build a 2GW network of grid-scale batteries and rapid electric vehicle charging stations across England and Wales.
Also last year, redT put a 1MWh hybrid lithium-ion and vanadium flow energy storage system into operation at a university in Australia.